Beverly man charged with DUI, battery on officer

May 1, 2014

ELKINS - A Beverly man was arrested on numerous charges after a traffic stop led to a physical struggle with police, according to court records.

Brandon Lee Currence, 29, was charged Tuesday with one count of DUI third offense, a felony, as well as one count of possession of marijuana, one count of obstructing, one count of battery on an officer and one count of destruction of property, all misdemeanors.

Currence was arraigned by Randolph County Magistrate George M. Riggleman and is being held in Tygart Valley Regional Jail on a $15,000 cash or surety bond.

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Currence

According to the criminal complaint, Trooper J.M. Hebb of the Elkins detachment of the West Virginia State Police said he and Cpl. M.S. Wetzel followed a black Dodge Dakota whose registration was expired. After initiating a traffic stop on Harrison Avenue near Rt. 219, Hebb and Wetzel had the driver, later identified as Currence, pull into Davis Medical Center, the complaint reads.

The officers noticed, after speaking with him, that Currence's eyes "were red and glassy, his speech was slurred, and an odor of an alcoholic beverage was emitting from the vehicle" and his breath, according to the complaint.

Hebb wrote he "noticed that (Currence) concealed something between the seats of the vehicle" and discovered it was a "marijuana bowl with residue" which was then seized. The officers asked Currence to submit to some sobriety tests, but he refused, according to the complaint. Hebb wrote that he "then placed (Currence) in the rear seat of (the) cruiser" where Currence "kicked the center console repeatedly, damaging Wetzel's cell phone charger and a radio microphone chord."

Wetzel then restrained Currence and the officers transported him to the Elkins City Police Department, but when asked to get out of the cruiser, Currence cursed at the officers and refused, the complaint states. Currence had to be "physically restrained after being ordered several times to exit the cruiser," and officers eventually had to carry him inside, the complaint states.

Hebb wrote that he "attempted to unrestrain (Currence) when (he) was attempting to slide the handcuffs around his legs and kicked (Hebb) in the leg." Hebb then "used his OC spray...to get (Currence) to comply," the complaint states.

After refusing another breath test, Currence was transported to Davis Medical Center, where "it was found that his ethanol serum was 163 MG/DL," more than twice the legal limit, according to the complaint.

Hebb discovered that Currence had three prior DUI convictions dating back to Sept. 22, 2005, the complaint states.